Prospect
by Who Really Cares Though
Summary: Alternate/Extended timeline of the movie, focusing on the two boys growing up in a new home. Ash and Kristofferson endure the trials of daily life and their coming of age.
1. Silence

It had been 7 fox-months since Ash said his sincere, slightly awkward, and poorly assembled apology to Kristofferson. The sewers were developing nicely, all things considered, and more and more animals were moving in. All but Kristofferson's own father.

Kristofferson sat quietly in the room of concrete and brick, deep in medititation. He didn't quite mind, thinking his father was getting better and eventually would move to the sewers with them. He still sat in near silence with his quiet humming.

In an adjacent room, Ash was reading the latest iteration of 'The White Cape' although, with less interest. His idea of fun had changed dramatically with his recent adventure of saving Kristofferson and escaping the farmers. His growing body and mind were less excited by a new issue.

The room he lay in reading was barren of his old room's posters, night lights and such. Only a salvaged painting by Felicity hung on the wall, and the only difference between his room and Kristofferson's was a thin cardboard wall covering half the room, for visual privacy.

They hadn't talked too much since their last trip to the supermarket. Ash had become quieter since then and was distancing himself. Ash stopped practicing meditation thinking Kristofferson had been spending so much time with Agnes, but he had little knowledge that they had broken up in a couple weeks before for reasons unknown.

His attempts to distance himself only worked so well under the circumstance of the close living quarters. The attempts Ash made was pushing Kristofferson into melancholy, if only slightly, as Kristofferson was growing more attached to the shorter fox, especially after Agnes. He felt content with being around Ash, he knew Ash cared for him, and he cared for Ash.

"Hey Kristofferson," Ash shouted, from behind his comic book. Then with less zeal "Do you want to make a run to the market tonight?"

"Umm, sure... but I don't think we should sneak out if your parents are still here." He contradicted his thoughts with his answer, he was afraid that the owners would ramp up security or set traps if they kept stealing and making messes. However, he was still excited to do something with Ash, after waiting in their rooms for anything to happen out of the daily routine.

As Kristofferson was in his thoughts and silent, Ash looked at him with annoyance and confusion.

"So is that a yes? or a 'maybe if I wasn't scared'" Ash said with a smirk.

Kristofferson looked back, trying to hide himself from looking insulted, because Ash was right. Kristofferson was scared.

"Yeah, let's do it!" He overcompensated with aggressiveness to seem more macho, but it was evident that he was nervous.

"Okay, here's the plan. Come closer so no one can hear us."

Kristofferson sat closer on the ground to Ash's bed, and instinctively warped his legs in a form from meditation.

"Do you always have to do that?"

"No, but I'm more comfortable doing so."

"Okay, whatever. So tonight we are gonna go to the market very late at night, after everyone else is asleep. We can't go through the main pipe to it, because that would wake everyone nearby up."

"So what do we do?" Kristofferson responded quizzically.

"A couple of days ago I found a tunnel that puts you on the far side of the supermarket. It's a long walk to the ladder, but there aren't any other animals living near it."

"So why is it so important we go there tonight?"

"Because... " He couldn't think of a convincing reason for Kristofferson. "So we can, uh, find some more..." He was at a loss of words.

"Ash! Kristofferson! Dinner is ready!" It was Felicity calling them.

"Oh cuss, we better get some food, come on!" Ash said, trying to hurry Kristofferson to drop the subject. Ash wanted to go to the supermarket to explore the town outside of it. He didn't want to scare Kristofferson away, seeing how last time he followed Ash, it ended badly for him.

While at their table, Kristofferson and Ash didn't say much to each other or anyone else. Dinner was quiet, barring the adults talking about their neighbors and the on-goings of the sewer.

After dinner, Ash and Kristofferson returned to their rooms. Unsure of what was to come next, they lay motionless.

"You could either stay up until we go, with me, or go to sleep and I'll wake you."

"I'll be awake, just tell me when we are leaving."


	2. Linoleum

Kristofferson lay quietly in the darkness, his cousin's breathing was quiet and soothing. While lying in wait, Kristofferson felt himself get sleepy.

 _How is he still awake?_ He thought to himself. _And why does he want to go tonight? Isn't there anything else fun to do?_

Ash shuffled in his bed, trying to find a comfortable position. Ash was equally excited and anxious for the events of tonight. He wanted to adventure on the surface like old times with Kristofferson. He felt a little guilty by not telling Kristofferson the whole truth about leaving the supermarket, but at the same time, didn't want to scare the taller fox away. Kristofferson was always a "goody two shoes" in Ash's eyes. He admired and despised him for it, as it was respectable to act nice all the time yet also annoying.

Ash turned to his alarm clock. "12:57 AM" it read. Almost time to go.

"Kristofferson? … Are you awake?" he whispered.

No response.

Ash stood up, still only in his briefs, and walked to his bed. Making sure his claws didn't scratch the unforgiving concrete, he crept up to Kristofferson's silhouette.

"Psst hey, wake up. We are going now."

Kristofferson shifted to face Ash in the dark. He looked up to see two emerald globes staring at him. He only then realized he fell asleep for most of the night. Groggy and in a haze, he stood up.

"Good, we have to go soon, if we want to be there and back before the sun rises."

"I still don't understand why we must leave tonight at this hour."

"Because I want to see more of the supermarket. We only saw a couple aisles last time."

Kristofferson rested his protests, while suspecting at best, he also wanted to explore the surface more. Albeit under his own terms, and if he felt secure.

-l-

With their eyes adjusting to the darkness, Ash and Kristofferson walk through the sewers, which became colder the further away they traveled. Ash led the way in his black bandit hat with stars and his White Cape costume, Kristofferson followed with his standard bandit hat and usual clothes.

 _He really likes that hat._ Kristofferson thought. _His dad did give to him after he performed that stunt. It must mean a lot to him… I don't think I've seen Uncle Foxie and Ash hold a conversation since then…_

They continue walking until they were reaching the end of that particular section, beyond any chamber for the animals to stay. The sewers there are old and poorly kept, owing to its lack of use. It was evident that it hasn't been entirely untouched though, as a large graffiti tag says "CUSS" on the wall. Kristofferson stared at it while Ash examined the area. In the distance, he sees a large portion of the tunnels lit up with a bright light.

"It's just up ahead, I'll go first," said Ash.

"Alright"

Ash walked under a beam of fluorescent light shining through the grate. He climbed up a ladder made of metal bars implanted in the walls to the top. Kristofferson stood underneath him, looking up as he pushed the grate out. Ash looked back down at him from the top of the ladder.

"Well? Are you coming?" he asked.

"Yeah, are you sure this is the right place?" questioned Kristofferson.

Ash peaked his eyes and ears over the linoleum floor. His eyes darted from left to right for a quick moment before he looked back at Kristofferson.

"This is it," he said with a hint of excitement.

Kristofferson climbed up behind Ash, who was standing and admiring the size of it. The few lights that were on reflected off of the tiles on the floor. Everywhere he looked were aisles that the usual supply party never touched, or hardly seen. So much more was to be explored. Ash looked to his right, through the glass doors and large windows, towards the empty parking lot. The human town still extended outwards with houses on large lots, with nothing but grass and picket fences in between.

 _Holy cuss, this place is huge. I wonder what's out there. We should've left sooner_. Ash pondered to himself. _I really want to see the outside, but we might have to come back another time, or else mom and dad might get suspicious of us._

He looked to Kristofferson with a large grin. He was also stuck in amazement by the grand sight.

"We haven't even seen the half of it."

Ash and Kristofferson walked forward into the bright supermarket, each looking around at all of the food and various items. They stare at the gleaming market with astonishment in their eyes.

 **\- Author's note -**

 **I hope you are reading this and enjoying it. I won't be doing author's notes often, as I don't like breaking the flow of someone reading through the chapters. Important details of the story's progression et al. pertaining to the story will be the most common reason for these. For example:**

 **The story will be updated at most every 3 weeks, most likely sooner. Chapters will be 700 words minimum with 1000-1200 being the average. I may edit the chapters occasionally to help the reading flow nicely. I'm shooting for 15+ chapters, if I can fabricate content that is not repetitive or redundant (although some scenes will obviously have similarities.)**


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